Buchanan gets another earful on firearms

Published: Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 9:37 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 9:37 p.m.

SARASOTA - For a second consecutive day, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan got an earful on gun control, both for and against, at a town hall meeting in his 16th Congressional District.

And as he did Friday at a similar meeting, Buchanan told a Sarasota crowd of about 150 people on Saturday that he is taking a wait-and-see approach on the issue and would not say where he stood on banning assault weapons.

"We do need to have a discussion over the next month or two," Buchanan said of the gun control issue.

As he did in Bradenton on Friday, Buchanan told the audience he is pro-Second Amendment and has been supported by the NRA in the past. But Buchanan said that won't stop him from looking at all the issues in response to the shooting rampage at a Connecticut school last month.

While gun control was a dominating issue Saturday, Buchanan also heard varying opinions on immigration reform and pleas from many to deal with the national debt.

On immigration Buchanan said he opposed an amnesty that would allow current immigrants in the country illegally to instantly become legal citizens. He also said English needs to be the official language of the United States.

On the debt, Buchanan said he supported the fiscal cliff deal earlier this month because it was the right thing to do for the district. But Buchanan said he is still concerned about government spending and is continuing to push a proposed balanced budget amendment that would stop the country from adding to its debt problem.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - For a second consecutive day, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan got an earful on gun control, both for and against, at a town hall meeting in his 16th Congressional District.</p><p>And as he did Friday at a similar meeting, Buchanan told a Sarasota crowd of about 150 people on Saturday that he is taking a wait-and-see approach on the issue and would not say where he stood on banning assault weapons.</p><p>"We do need to have a discussion over the next month or two," Buchanan said of the gun control issue.</p><p>As he did in Bradenton on Friday, Buchanan told the audience he is pro-Second Amendment and has been supported by the NRA in the past. But Buchanan said that won't stop him from looking at all the issues in response to the shooting rampage at a Connecticut school last month.</p><p>While gun control was a dominating issue Saturday, Buchanan also heard varying opinions on immigration reform and pleas from many to deal with the national debt.</p><p>On immigration Buchanan said he opposed an amnesty that would allow current immigrants in the country illegally to instantly become legal citizens. He also said English needs to be the official language of the United States.</p><p>On the debt, Buchanan said he supported the fiscal cliff deal earlier this month because it was the right thing to do for the district. But Buchanan said he is still concerned about government spending and is continuing to push a proposed balanced budget amendment that would stop the country from adding to its debt problem.</p>